The present invention relates to a glass plate working machine suitable for forming a window glass for an automobile, etc., by breaking an unshaped glass plate.
A glass plate working machine is known, wherein a table in a cutting unit on which an unshaped glass plate is placed and a table in a grinding unit on which the broken glass plate is placed are adapted to be moved by one electric motor in one direction in a horizontal plane, a cutting head in the cutting unit for forming a cutting line on the unshaped glass plate and a grinding head in the grinding unit for grinding an edge of the broken glass plate are adapted to be moved by one electric motor as well in another direction perpendicular to one direction in a horizontal plane.
In such a glass plate working machine, it is quite easy and preferable that both tables are each moved mutually synchronously and that the cutting head and the grinding head are each moved mutually synchronously, since the source of the operation to move them is one electric motor. However, the transmitting mechanism for informing the rotation of one electric motor to each of the tables and the transmitting mechanism for informing the rotation of one electric motor to the cutting head and the grinding head are complicated, the distance of the information route is long, and further, it is difficult that the glass plate working machine is arranged to include the perfectly same transmitting mechanisms with respect to backlash or the like.
Accordingly, in the above mentioned glass plate working machine, it is not always possible to move accurately synchronously each of both tables and each of the cutting head and the grinding head mutually because of the difference of the length of the transmitting mechanism, the difference of the backlash of the transmitting mechanism or the like.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a glass plate working machine which is capable of moving the table in the cutting unit on which an unshaped glass plate is placed and the table in the grinding unit on which the broken glass plate is placed accurately synchronously.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a glass plate working machine which is capable of moving the cutting head in the cutting unit for forming a cutting line on the unshaped glass plate and the grinding head in the grinding unit for grinding the edge of the broken glass plate accurately synchronously.
The glass plate working machine according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a cutting unit for forming a cutting line on an. unshaped glass plate to break the unshaped glass plate, a grinding unit for grinding an edge of the glass plate broken along the cutting line, a glass plate conveyer unit for conveying the glass plate sequentially through the cutting unit and the grinding unit, and control means connected to the cutting unit and the grinding unit for controlling the cutting unit and the grinding unit, respectively, the cutting unit including a table of the cutting unit on which the unshaped glass plate is placed, and an electric motor for moving the table of the cutting unit in one direction, the grinding unit including a table of the grinding unit on which the broken glass plate is placed, and an electric motor disposed separately from the electric motor of the cutting unit, for moving the table of the cutting unit in one direction for moving the table of the grinding unit in one direction, the electric motor of the cutting unit and the electric motor of the grinding unit being adapted to be operated synchronously by the control means to move the table of the cutting unit and the table of the grinding unit concurrently in one direction.
Since the glass plate working machine according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises the electric motor for moving the table of the cutting unit in one direction and the electric motor for moving the table of the grinding unit in one direction, and is arranged such that both of the electric motors are operated synchronously by the control means, the distance between respective electric motor and the table of the cutting unit or the table of the grinding unit can be made shorter, simple transmitting mechanism can be adopted, the difference of the backlash or the like of the transmitting mechanism can be minimized, and further, the deviation of the position between the table of the cutting unit and the table of the grinding unit based on the difference of the backlash or the like of the transmitting mechanism can be adjusted individually by the controlling means. Therefore, the table in the cutting unit on which an unshaped glass plate is placed and the table in the grinding unit on which the broken glass plate is placed can be moved accurately synchronously.
The glass plate working machine according to the second aspect of the present invention is arranged such that the table of the cutting unit and the table of the grinding unit are connected to each other through an intermediate connecting plate in the glass plate working machine according to the first aspect.
In the glass plate working machine according to the second aspect, since the table of the cutting unit and the table of the grinding unit are connected to each other through the intermediate connecting plate, the deviation of the position between the table of the cutting unit and the table of the grinding unit can be reduced furthermore, therefore, the table in the cutting unit on which an unshaped glass plate is placed and the table in the grinding unit on which the broken glass plate is placed can be moved more accurately synchronously.
The glass plate working machine according to the third aspect of the present invention comprises a breaking unit provided between the cutting unit and the grinding unit for breaking the unshaped glass plate along the cutting line, the control means being connected to the breaking unit such that while the cutting unit and the grinding unit are in motion, the breaking unit performs an operation concurrently, in the glass plate working machine according to the first or second aspect.
In the glass plate working machine according to the third aspect, since the breaking unit performs an operation concurrently while the cutting unit and the grinding unit are in motion, time for working the glass plate is reduced considerably.
The glass plate working machine according to the forth aspect of the present invention comprises a breaking unit provided between the cutting unit and the grinding unit for breaking the unshaped glass plate along the cutting line, the control means being connected to the breaking unit such that while the cutting unit and the grinding unit are in motion, the breaking unit performs an operation concurrently, the table of the cutting unit and the table of the grinding unit being connected to each other through an intermediate connecting plate disposed across the breaking unit, in the glass plate working machine according to the first aspect.
In the glass plate working machine according to the forth aspect, since the breaking unit performs an operation concurrently while the cutting unit and the grinding unit are in motion, time for working the glass plate is reduced considerably, and further, since the table of the cutting unit and the table of the grinding unit are connected to each other through the intermediate connecting plate provided across the breaking unit, the deviation of the position between the table of the cutting unit and the table of the grinding unit can be reduced furthermore. Therefore, the table in the cutting unit on which an unshaped glass plate is placed and the table in the grinding unit on which the broken glass plate is placed can be moved more accurately synchronously.
The glass plate working machine according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is arranged such that the cutting unit includes a cutting head for forming the cutting line on the unshaped glass plate, the grinding unit includes a grinding head for grinding the edge of the broken glass plate, the cutting head and the grinding head are adapted to be moved concurrently in another direction perpendicular to one direction, the control means controlling the concurrent movement of the cutting head and the grinding head, in the glass plate working machine according to any one of the first to forth aspects.
The glass plate working machine according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is arranged such that the cutting unit includes a cutting head for forming the cutting line on the unshaped glass plate, and an electric motor for moving the cutting head in another direction perpendicular to one direction, the grinding unit including a grinding head for grinding the edge of the broken glass plate, and an electric motor disposed separately from the electric motor of the cutting unit for moving the cutting head in another direction for moving the grinding head in another direction, the electric motor of the cutting unit for moving the cutting head in another direction and the electric motor of the grinding unit for moving the grinding head in another direction being adapted to be operated synchronously by the control means to move the cutting head and the grinding head concurrently in another direction, in the glass plate working machine according to. any one of the first to forth aspects.
Since the glass plate working machine according to the sixth aspect comprises the electric motor for moving the cutting head in another direction and the electric motor for moving the grinding head in another direction and is arranged such that both of the electric motors are operated synchronously by the control means, the distance between respective electric motor and the cutting head or the grinding head can be made shorter, simple transmitting mechanism can be adopted, the difference of the backlash or the like of the transmitting mechanism can be minimized, and further, the deviation of the position between the cutting head and the grinding head based on the difference of the backlash or the like of the transmitting mechanism can be adjusted individually by the controlling means. Therefore, the cutting head in the cutting unit for forming a cutting line on an unshaped glass plate and the grinding head in the grinding unit for grinding an edge of the broken glass plate can be moved accurately synchronously.
The glass plate working machine according to the seventh aspect of the present invention comprises a cutting unit for forming a cutting line on an unshaped glass plate to break the unshaped glass plate, a grinding unit for grinding an edge of the glass plate broken along the cutting line, a glass plate conveyer unit for conveying the glass plate sequentially through the cutting unit and the grinding unit, and control means connected to the cutting unit and the grinding unit for controlling the cutting unit and the grinding unit, respectively, the cutting unit including a cutting head for forming the cutting line on the unshaped glass plate, and an electric motor for moving the cutting head in one direction, the grinding unit including a grinding head for grinding the edge of the broken glass plate, and an electric motor disposed separately from the electric motor of the cutting unit for moving the cutting head in one direction for moving the grinding head in one direction, the electric motor of the cutting unit for moving the cutting head in one direction and the electric motor of the grinding unit for moving the grinding head in one direction being adapted to be operated synchronously by the control means to move the cutting head and the grinding head concurrently in one direction.
The glass plate working machine according to the seventh aspect takes same effect as the glass plate working machine according to the sixth aspect.
The present invention is applicable to a glass plate working machine which produces an automobile window glass, for example, glass for side windows, front windows, rear windows, rear quarter windows and the like on a flexible manufacturing basis. However, the present invention is applicable to a glass plate working machine for producing not only such an automobile glass but also a table top glass put on a table and other glass plates having a deformed shape, etc.
A glass plate working machine according to the present invention may be arranged such that a glass plate is worked and conveyed in accordance with a numerical control system. A glass plate working machine according to the present invention may be arranged such that cutting and grinding of glass plates are performed concurrently under the control of a numerical control device and glass plates are sequentially fed under the control of the numerical control device. A glass plate working machine according to the present invention may be arranged such that only the sole machine performs cutting, breaking and grinding operations on an unshaped glass plate under the control of a numerical control device in a line conveyer system. Namely, the glass plate working machine according to the present invention may be arranged such that a glass plate is ground in the grinding stage while a cutting line is being formed by a cutter on another glass plate in the cutting stage.
One of glass plate working machines according to the present invention includes a cutting unit for forming a cutting line on an unshaped glass plate in order to cut the unshaped glass plate in accordance with numerical information, a grinding unit for grinding a cut edge of the glass plate, a breaking unit provided between the cutting unit and the grinding unit for breaking the glass plate with the cutting line formed in the cutting unit along the cutting line, and a glass plate conveying unit for sequentially conveying the glass plate to the cutting unit, breaking unit, grinding unit and, when required, a discharging unit.
The glass plate working machine according to the present invention may be arranged such that the motions of the cutting unit and the grinding unit are interlocked, to perform the cutting and grinding operations in parallel and to simultaneously break a glass plate to be transferred to the grinding unit in the next operation stage, i.e. in the next cycle in the breaking unit.
The present invention and embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.